Paine College is one of 11 historically black colleges and universities selected by the Tom Joyner Foundation to be a School of the Month this year.

The foundation was founded in 1998 by Tom Joyner, the host of the Tom Joyner Morning Show, a nationally syndicated radio show. The foundation provides scholarships to help students remain enrolled at historically black schools."For an institution like Paine College, that was founded on the premise of helping the community, this means a great deal," said Brandon Brown, the college's vice president of institutional advancement."We want to continue to be the bridge and the gateway to educate new doctors, lawyers, teachers and ministers and overall, productive citizens. This is going to impact us greatly and we look forward to continuing to do what we do best, which is to educate our students on the path toward excellence."

The foundation works with the schools on a fund drive and promotes the college during its designated month on the show, said Thomas Joyner Jr., the president and CEO of the foundation and son of the radio show host.July is Paine's month."We are trying to raise $250,000 throughout the calendar year for Paine College," Joyner said.All the money raised will be used for scholarships, said Helene Carter, the vice president of institutional advancement.During a school's month, the show will highlight the college's history; interview leaders; announce recipients of scholarships; and have alumni make on-air donations, Joyner said.Paine has challenged each of its alumni chapters to raise at least $5,000, Carter said.The Paine College National Alumni Association will present the college with a $10,000 donation to the campaign tonight during the college's 10th annual Scholarship Masked Ball, she said.

Over the past 12 years, the Tom Joyner Foundation has raised more than $55 million for students at the institutions.